With filing for the 2014 general election now open, this will be the final update to our election trackers that does not involve information on who has filed. Candidates who already filed, including those who are new as of their filing can be viewed in yesterday's candidate filing post.

Among the new candidates who filed yesterday was El Paso lawyer Maxey Scherr who will be running for Texas' Class 2 US Senate seat, currently healed by Sen. John Cornyn (R). Charles Kuffner did an excellent job summarizing his first impressions with Ms. Scherr last week:

I had a chance to meet Maxey on Friday thanks to Barbara Radnofsky, who was hosting her and introducing her around. She would be a first-time candidate, which is daunting to say the least at a statewide level, but she has some connections that will serve her well to get going. She is friends with both Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Rep. Silvestre Reyes, and is good friends with and a former schoolmate of the daughter of John Cook, the former Mayor of El Paso who is now the Democratic candidate for Land Commissioner. Scherr's father James Scherr is a fixture in politics there and will apparently take a year off from his position as senior partner at their law firm to fundraise for her. I think she has the potential to raise a few bucks, which will be worth keeping an eye on. … I expect her to run a progressive campaign geared at least in part towards voters of her own cohort, which is something we're not used to seeing in this state and which ought to provide a good contrast to an old-boy establishment figure like Cornyn.

A race for US Senate in any state would be tough for any first time candidate. It's good to hear Ms. Scherr may have fundraising connections, she will need them. There are no other Democrats known to even be interested in running against Sen. Cornyn, so one must respect Ms. Scherr's eagerness to step forward and take on this challenge.

Click beneath the jump to read about the other candidates who have decided to run for office in 2014.The following lawmakers confirmed they will be seeking re-election in 2014:

The following are new candidates added to the candidate trackers in the last week. They are all either running for open seats or challenging incumbents.

Lieutenant Governor

Maria Luisa Alavarado (D), a veteran and the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2006, has announced, eight years later, that she will run for the office again.

Railroad Commissioner

Previously, Burnt Orange Report had an exclusive interview with former Fort Bend County Chair Stephen Brown (D) about a potential bid for Railroad Commissioner. In the last week, Mr. Brown made it official and announced that he will run for Railroad Commissioner in 2014.

US Congress

-14: Don Brown (D), a Democratic activist from Jefferson County, has announced he will run against freshman Randy Weber (R) in 2014.

-26: Incumbent Michael Burgess (R) is getting the challenge from both sides. Small businessman Joel Krause (R)will challenge the incumbent in the Republican primary while Matthew Wiegmann (D)will be waiting for the victor in the general election.

Suspended his campaign for the Texas Senate so he could spend more time with his family.

Texas House

-10: Another Republican has entered the race to replace the retiring Rep. Jim Pitts (R);Jake Ellzey (R), a veteran, is the latest to join the field.

-50: With Celia Israel (D) and Mike VandeWalle (R) advancing to the runoff in the special election to replace Fmr. Rep. Mark Strama (D),Rico Reyes (D), Jade Chang Shepard (D), and Ramey Ko (D) have been removed from the candidate tracker. If any candidates chose to run in the 2014 general election, they will be added back on at that time.

-64: Democrats will have a primary to take on Rep. Myra Crownover (R),Emy Lyons (D) is listed on the county party website as ready to run for the Denton County seat.

-66: With Rep. Van Taylor (R) running for Texas Senate, it's surprising it took this long for candidates to announce for the open seat. In the last two weeks, three candidates emerged. Glenn Callison (R), CEO of Munsch Hardt, teaching assistant and TEA Party activist Stacy Chen (R), and radio host Wayne Richard (R) are ready to run in the 2014 Republican primary. No Democrat has emerged yet to run for the seat.

Did we miss something? Is something incorrect? Please help complete the 2014 database by sending an e-mail to joseph@burntorangereport.com with a linked source on what is missing. The filing deadline for the 2014 elections is December 9, 2013.

About Author

Joseph was raised in Friendswood, Texas in North Galveston County. He went on to graduate from the University of North Texas with a degree in Political Science. After working for multiple campaigns, Joseph was able to work in the 83rd legislature in Austin in 2013.
While retired from professional campaign work, Joseph enjoys sharing his knowledge of campaign data how to win elections in naturally unfriendly turf with others.
Joseph is an avid archer and enjoys all things geek including Star Wars and DC Comics.